Castlevania: The Retrospective

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IGN celebrates 20 years of vampire slaying.

By Mark Bozon

A series now over two decades old, Castlevania is looked at as one of the true classics franchises of our industry. Starting as an unassuming horror movie look-alike in 1987, Castlevania has seen its fair share of ups and downs, successes and failures, moments of greatness and tribulation. As Konami celebrates the 20 year anniversary of the game, we saw it fit to take a look back on the franchise's humble eight-bit beginnings, its current standing on both handheld and console systems, and the future of this longstanding gaming tradition.

Eight Bit Origins:Though the story progression of Castlevania (or Demon Castle Dracula, in Japan) isn't directly linked together from story to story, the franchise does contain a simple, overlaying theme that helps tie the franchise into one congruent world. Based loosely on the classic Bram Stroker's Dracula, the franchise got its start on the original Nintendo Entertainment System under the simple name of Castlevania. Whether you've been with the series since the classic NES titles, are new to the world of Castlevania and have played only the PS2/Xbox versions, or consider yourself as part of the more hardcore portable crowd with games like Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin, Castlevania has always based itself on a few basic design ideas, which have kept each generation's experience within arm's reach of the next, and are instantly recognizable. While not every idea is used in each game, there's a steady evolution that can be seen from title to title. The games have been - and with luck, will always be - about a lone warrior (sometimes accompanied by a cast of supporting characters) that embarks on a quest to slay Dracula. Since the game is, at its core, a platformer, precision jumping and a strong combat system is where most of the driving force of the experience is devoted to. While more recent titles have tried to emulate the Symphony of the Night storytelling, none of the Castlevania games have really hit hard with strong tale-telling, and the experience again is boiled down to sheer gameplay.Castlevania:In its debut title, Castlevania followed the adventure of Simon Belmont, a legendary hero from a clan whose bloodline was responsible for defeating Dracula every one hundred years. At the time of its 1987 release, Castlevania was still very much a tooth-cutting title for elite gamers, as it was one of the first major platform games to hit the NES console.

Castlevania was surrounded by a solid bundle of now-classic game franchises such as The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo), Metroid (Nintendo), Mega Man (Capcom), and Final Fantasy (Square Enix). Though Castlevania wasn't one of the original 18 launch titles for the NES, it was part of the unofficial second wave of games, and an integral part of the Nintendo Entertainment System's premiere years. From that point on, each Castlevania title (though still primarily a stand-alone adventure) was subsequently added into the overarching timeline, and while not every piece of the puzzle clicks perfectly from game to game, it remains to be one of the most prominent classic franchises still recognized today for its outstanding gameplay. Not only did the game feature a simple - yet challenging - gameplay mechanic, it also made great use of a classic cast of monsters. Along with Count Dracula came an all-star selection of ghoulish baddies to defeat, including Frankenstein, Medusa, and the Grim Reaper (or simply "Death" as he came to be called). Lining the halls of the cursed castle were more basic - but classic - enemies to encounter, ranging from zombies, bats, ghosts, and a hell of a lot of skeletons. The game's cast was instantly recognizable, and thus it was a perfect candidate for any and all horror fans. Castlevania was off to a legendary start.The original game, however, was only the beginning. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest:

During the first wave of sequels on the NES, Nintendo and its supporters found themselves with a bit of a challenge: Now that the games are selling, how do we keep the cash coming in? Since the industry was still in its opening cycles, publishers weren't amazingly confident in repeat customers. That is to say, designers and businessmen alike seemed to have no idea whether fans would put up with the same style of game over and over, or if they would simply move onto the next game that came along. For that reason games like The Legend of Zelda were followed up by The Adventures of Link; a title that - as any pure Zelda fanatic would tell you - is about as far from traditional design as can be. While companies like Capcom sought to improve the already-established formula of its previous franchise game (see Mega Man one through 1,000,000 over the last two decades), Mario was getting a strange - yet still loveable - Super Mario 2. The Castlevania franchise was no different, as Konami decided to move the series from level-based arcade-inspired action to a more mature action/adventure game with role-playing elements added in.